Milford City Zoning Code

Development of the southern 21 acres of the site as mix of residential development providing tax ratables lost to the Borough with the closure of the former paper manufacturing facility;

A new residential neighborhood in keeping with the village quality of the Borough to be located on the southern end of the site, south of the Hakihokake Creek, with townhouse and multifamily residential dwellings surrounded by neighborhood greenways;

An assisted living facility for local and surrounding residents along Frenchtown Road south of the office buildings;

Maintenance of the area north of the Hakihokake Creek as an open space and passive recreation area;

Public access to the Delaware River waterfront with pedestrian trails and a limited-scale public portage;

A series of trails providing linkages to a regional trail network and to existing pedestrian pathways in the Borough;

Passive recreation areas located between the residential dwellings and the Delaware River with integrated stormwater management facilities;

An aesthetically pleasing gateway treatment and streetscape along Frenchtown Road;

An extension of the existing roadway grid to create a sub network of streets to provide circulation and access alternatives.

Townhouse residential dwellings.

Multifamily residential dwellings.

Assisted living.

Passive recreation trails and areas.

Off-street parking;

Decks, balconies and porches;

Fences and walls;

Ancillary recreation elements, such as a swimming pool, tennis courts and other similar uses to only serve the residents of a complex;

Trash enclosures;

Signs;

Outdoor lighting.

Residential development shall emulate characteristics of townhouse and multifamily style development within the immediate Milford area and shall also include assisted living for aging populations to remain in the area. The proposed design of the residential development should support a pedestrian-friendly environment and a gradual transition in housing type from the traditional detached single-family residential development pattern along Delaware Avenue on to a townhouse and multifamily form development pattern. The area shall be further supplemented by an assisted living facility at the southernmost end of the redevelopment area.

Sidewalks and paths shall be provided throughout the entire redevelopment area to encourage pedestrian connections through the neighborhood and to various trails and pedestrian linkages surrounding the site. The visual character of the site stems from the relationship of roadway width, setbacks, side yards and the decorative layering of planting of front yards with plantings. The continuity of the residential corridors is dependent on adequate minimum front yard and side yard setbacks. Townhouse garages are prohibited from directly accessing adjacent public streets in order to minimize curb cuts and maintain a safe and pleasing streetscape. Garages and off street parking for townhouses are encouraged to be accessed from alley ways behind each townhouse structure to provide full prominence to the home rather than vehicle storage.

Open space and recreation facilities are proposed as a major element of the plan and consists of the following:

Common open space shall comprise not less than 40% of the total gross area of the 73.3 acre tract. Such space may include land area to be developed as recreation areas or which is designated for common use of all occupants of the development but shall not include streets, off-street parking areas or incidental landscaped areas within off-street parking areas. The redeveloper shall be required to provide perpetual maintenance for such open space. Not less than 1/6 of this minimum required open space shall be in a form usable to and accessible by the publics, such as the central green, commons, woodland walking trails, similar footpaths, or any combination of the above.

The required open space shall be located and designed to add to the visual amenities and village atmosphere of the development. The visibility of internal open space shall be maximized through the use of terminal vistas and linkages to other open space elements.

Parking for all townhouse structures shall be prohibited in front yard setback areas from public streets and should be situated in the rear of each unit accessible by alley ways so as to give full prominence to the front facade of each unit rather than to vehicle storage.

Driveways shall be set back at least 15 feet from all residential buildings and five feet from non-residential structures to provide room for a landscaped area.

Parking lot layout, landscaping, buffering and screening shall be provided to minimize direct views of parked vehicles from the street right-of-way and sidewalks, avoid spill-over light, glare, noise, or exhaust fumes onto adjacent properties. Parking lots exposed to view shall be surrounded by a minimum of three-foot landscaped berm (see accompanying diagram). The height of the berm shall gradually decrease in size where driveways, walkways and sidewalks approach to provide adequate sight triangles.

The interior of all parking lots shall be landscaped to provide shade and visual relief. At a minimum, at least one deciduous tree shall be planted for every five parking spaces inside a six-foot wide planter or landscape island is required. Landscaping should be utilized to soften edges of parking lots and to provide a sense of lot borders or boundaries.

Parking lot layout should take into consideration pedestrian movement and pedestrian crossing should be installed where deemed necessary by the Planning Board.

The required number of parking spaces may be reduced by demonstrating the possibility of shared parking subject to the review/approval of the Board, and considering the availability of on-street parking.

Parking lot layout should take into consideration pedestrian movement and pedestrian crossing should be installed where deemed necessary by the Board.

Off street loading requirements shall be as follows:

Landscaping is to be provided as part of all redevelopment and is to be integrated into building arrangements, topography, parking, buffering and other site features. Landscaping may include trees, shrubs, ground cover, berms, flowers, sculpture, art and similar materials, and shall be designed to provide aesthetic, buffering, environmental, ornamental, and other related functions. All landscaping plans shall be prepared by a New Jersey licensed landscape architect.

Landscaping shall permit adequate site distance for motorists and pedestrians entering and existing a site and shall not interfere with circulation patterns.

Landscaping shall be provided adjacent to and within parking areas to screen vehicles from view and to minimize the expansive appearance of parking fields. Street trees shall be installed in the public right-of-way for all development within non-residential districts.

Trees shall be planted within rights-of-way parallel to the street along all streets.

Street tree spacing shall be determined by species type. Large maturing trees shall be planted a minimum of 40 feet and a maximum of 50 feet on center. Small and medium maturing trees shall be planted a minimum of 10 feet and a maximum of 30 feet on center.

Large maturing trees, such as willow oaks, tulip poplars, and American beech shall generally be planted along residential streets and along the street frontages and perimeter areas of parks, squares, greenbelts, and civic structures.

Small maturing trees such as flowering dogwoods, crape myrtle shall generally be planted along non-residential streets, interior portions of parks, squares, greenbelts, and civic lots.

Plantings in the immediate proximity to buildings in front and side yards shall respect architectural lines (should be seen as extension of architectural walls).

Plantings toward the street shall respect the integrity of the street by not obscuring important buildings and respecting views to and from streets, porches, walks, and public open spaces.

Existing trees 18 inches in caliper or greater may count towards all tree requirements. All such trees not within a drive or building footprint after grading may not be cut without approval from the Board.

All plantings shall be installed free from disease and in a manner that ensures the availability of sufficient soil and water for healthy growth and which is not intrusive to underground utilities.

All loading areas shall be landscaped in a manner that sufficiently screens the view of the loading area and vehicles from any public right-of-way and residential property.